The Claret and Blue started brightly and went ahead after 14 minutes through the promising Craig Gardner. It came after John Carew did well to get to the byline and send in a cross that the defence failed to clear properly. The ball rebounded out to Gardner and he slotted it past Almunia.
It was a case of too much too soon though as first Matthieu Flamini and then Emmanuel Adebayor struck.
The French midfielder replied instantly for the away side with a well taken finish from the edge of the area after Tomas Rosicky mis-controlled.
An eerie atmosphere emerged around the ground and there was a sense of inevitability as Adebayor scored ten minutes before half-time. It proved to be the winner and came after Arsenal enjoyed a continued spell of passing. The Togalese international finished a great move with a powerful header from Bacary Sagna's whipped cross from the right.
Arsene Wenger will most likely have enjoyed a small Merlot at half time after his side gave a full-bodied first half-performance.
However, Arsenal maybe enjoyed too much of the vintage as they came out after the break looking rather punch drunk.
Villa dominated more and more as the half wore on and nearly scored through Martin Laursen who slid his effort just past the post.
Martin O'Neill's men were to come even closer as the strong John Carew headed against the bar with Almunia beaten.
It was an unfortunate finale for the home side who many may believe deserved at least a point, especially considering the league leaders failed to even have a shot on target in the second half.